January 07, 2009

Here is my first post of 2009 today after almost 5 months of blog break! :) Unfortunately, India had to go through traumatic time last year, my heartfelt condolences to all the families who lost their dear ones. I hope these things will never happen again and we will be at peace. Life is too short to endure all these violent nonsense!!!A little peek at my brand new kitchen!As you know, we have been remodeling our home in the last months. I know many of you are waiting to see my new kitchen, so here it is! My old white kitchen is here! :)

***********************************************************************************************************Since we came back home from Winter vacation last week and I had been transferring all my blog stuff to my new laptop last weekend, I didn't have anything else to post today. So I thought I would show you my usual annual Summer garden post along with a simple dish made from homegrown vegetables, a tasty Sambhar/saaru/soup. I successfully grew some Indian Ridge gourd, Snake gourd and Bottle gourds last Summer, which was very exciting for me because in the summer of 2007 I failed miserably and those plants never gave any results! :)

Heirloom tomatoes, Pear Tomatoes, Grape tomatoes and Cherry tomatoes (I forgot to add Cherry tomatoes here in the photo!) Seeds for Indian vegetables can be bought here and here.

This is how it all started: I planted Okra, Pear tomatoes, Red Chard, Eggplants; green and purple,Cucumber, Cubano Peppers and Tabasco peppers in May in my "above the ground" vegetable patch.

Potted herbs: Balm Lemon, Chives, Mint, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Italian Parsley, Rosemary. Some of the herbs I planted last year thrived this Summer too, didn't have to buy new ones.

Around August, I got quite a few purple Eggplants, Cucumbers, Green Eggplants and Indian Bottle gourds.Potted mixed herbs, Dill, Methi (Fenugreek) leaves and Amaranth leaves grew luxuriously:Plenty of Tomatoes, Cubano Peppers, Red Radishes and Tabasco chillies which I love and freeze them to use all until next Summer! Curry leaves plant is growing well, it is inside my home now. You see the Red Chard which we enjoyed all Summer.I grew Indian Snake gourd (Padavalakayi, Ridge Gourd (Heerekayi), Zucchini and few green beans this year, loved them all! :)Got loads of beautiful rainbow Red Chard, colorful tomatoes including Pear and cherry tomatoes, Eggplants, Methi (Fenugreek) leaves, Amaranth leaves and red and white radish greens as well. More Red radishes which is great for cooking or salad, Okras, Zucchini, Snake and Ridge gourds to enjoy, Bottle gourd and more tomatoes!! Are you tired of looking at them yet? ;DNow that vegetable showcase is over, here is the recipe for a delicious soup/saaru which is made of freshly cut vegetables from my vegetable garden last Summer. Enjoy! :)

Garden fresh mixed vegetable Sambhar or Tarkari bele saaru, my Mysore grandmother's style: Of course she used to make huge amount of saaru powder with 16+ spices at her home to last for a whole year and send it to her sons' and daughters' families as well! I surely can't give you that recipe here, but you can have my lighter and simpler saaru pd version! :D

To make this dish, you need:

1 cup Tuar dal (cooked in 2-3 cups of water+1 tsp oil+1/4 tsp turmeric+mixed vegs if you like,some vegs tend to get mashed if cooked in pressure cooker which is not desirable), 2-3 cups of mixed vegetables, chopped, may be cooked in the microwave in advance. (I used few of each of all homegrown vegetables shown above, some frozen green peas to add color and some carrot slices. (Make sure to roast/shallow fry the chopped Okras with little oil in a non-stick pan to eliminate the slime), 2 tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Tamarind concentrate or 2 tbsp tamarind juice, cilantro to garnish.

Another look:

Simple Saaru/Sambhar powder:Roast these spices lightly until crisp without oil and cool them before grinding with the fresh coconut: 2 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tbsp yellow roasted Chana dal/chutney dal/Dalia, (Hurikadale), 2 tbsp Coriander seeds,1/2 tsp Methi (Fenugreek) seeds, 2 dry red chillies, (or as many as you like),1-1/2" Cinnamon stick (Indian Dalchini).Grind the above with 1/4 cup fresh (dry coconut can be used but fresh is better, do not roast), few curry leaves, Cilantro, 1 garlic, 2 slices of onion and little water until smooth and keep aside.

1. Heat oil+ghee in a deep pot, add the seasoning ingredients and fry one by one until reddish, adding hing and turmeric at the end.Now, add 2 cups of water and chopped vegetables, cover and cook until veggies are soft ie if they are not cooked before in the microwave.

3. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 2 mins before you add coconut paste. If the sambhar is hot and bubbling and the ground coconut paste added, it will look curdled and separate, it will make the sambhar thin and grainy instead of a smooth gravy, so don't add the ground masala when saaru is hot! 4. Now, add the ground coconut masala paste. Simmer gently for 3-5 mins. Adjust the salt. Saaru/Sambhar shouldn't be too thick or too thin. Adjust the water, chilli pd or salt as needed when simmering.

5. Garnish with cilantro. Tastes better the next day.

Note: Instead of mixed vegs, sometimes I use 1 huge Rutabaga, peeled and cubed with carrot slices which makes a sweetish saaru which my kids approve or with 3-4 Turnips as well.Once you added the dal, do not boil the saaru too much, just 1-2 mins is enough since vegs are already cooked. Seasoning can be made separately and can be added at the end of cooking as we usually do.

This warm and comforting soup or Sambhar goes to Trupti of "Recipe Center", who is hosting "Winter Treat" event and Sunshinemom at "Tongueticklers" blog's "Food in Colors-Yellow" event as well. Thanks for hosting girls, enjoy! :))

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed my homegrown vegetable galore as much as we did last Summer. See you all next Wednesday, I have got to catch up with old and new RCI event posts now! :D

PS:While on vacation in Orlando, we watched few movies. I highly recommend these two, "The curious case of Benjamin Button" (very moving and amazingly shot in New Orleans etc, Brad Pitt (Teenage Brad Pitt! OMG!! :D) and Cate Blanchett are excellent in this movie!) and I was thrilled to get a chance to see "Slumdog Millionaire" too. This movie was sad, shocking (Mumbai slums and survival; how could any democratic country would let her citizens live like that in this time and age is beyond me, makes me very very sad, specially for those slum kids who are supposed to be the citizens of tomorrow!!), sometimes hilarious, engrossing and very romantic! Dev Patel (Jamal in the movie) is a very talented young man.Both of these films are nominated for Golden Globe awards. Hope you get a chance to see both of these wonderful, interesting "out of the box" movies.

Hey thr Asha so good to have u back...its been a very busy 2008 for u ....beautiful kitchen...gr8 job done....cooking dishes with ingredients from ur own garden must have been satisfying....i hope to do that 1 day :)...

SDM is on my list of must watch movies...AR rehman is nominated for the original score...:)...and i dont think i can watch it until it comes on dvd coz its released in limited theatres only :(...

Sambar saaru looks divine...i love anything made with toor dal..i can have it anytime...:)

Long time, and I really enjoyed reading and seeing the vegetable garden! Amazed at the variety of veggies you have grown, and your saaru reminds me of days when we had our own patch, and my Mom used to ask us to just pluck off some of this and that for that fresh tasty lunch!! Happy New Year!!

Thanks Asha and wish u too a very Happy New Year. I must say you have a lovely garden and a beautiful kitchen. What I liked the most is the methi(fenugreek) that u have grown in a cup. What a creativity.

Welcome back dear Asha!! So good to see you... Happy New Year :) Love your kitchen.. looks awesome. I'm sure you are super excited to cook in it. Nice to read about your bountiful garden... and the sambhar looks perfect. I've not made it with so many veggies at once before.

So glad to see your post. Happy New Year, once again. Lovely sambhar. I loved that container too. & your new kitchen is so beautiful. Have fun. Enjoy your breaks but do post whenever you can, please. I miss you.

Happy new year! And it is a pleasure to see you back and hope to see you post more often... Congrats on your successful gardening venture.. My mouth is watering after the green egg plants what we call 'eeringere badanekai' or 'mysore badanekai'. It has been ages since i had them, how i miss Vangibhat made from those beauties...

hey... so good to see you back...Happy New Year dear..welcome back...very nice kitchen :) Looks great... your blog is always a pleasure to read :) It is such a pleasure to cook with home grown veggies...They some how seem to taste better isn't it?

Asha,very happy to see you back..many of your recipes i tried and aloo dalna i have put in my blog too.http://thepassionatecookinme.blogspot.com/2008/08/independence-day-meal.htmlWelcome back and happy new year..hope to see more from you..

Yupieeee you are back.I am so happy to see you here.You should see my smile as you are back, i think it is miles and mile long :----------------------------)Now reading the your post i think i should take out shyamass pic as i addded two of her in my place.And it is better to see you here once a while than seeing you at all as you know we all missed you a lot and lot.Sambar looks yumm.Happy Newyear to you,Aravind, and the kids.I love your garden, i am really jalous ;-) and not to mention you totall refurnished home.Good too see you here.

Happy new year to you too Ashakka...boy am I glad to see you back..;-);-!!Great post as usual,the vegetable bounty is excellent and I hope to have a small veggie garden of my own someday..;-).Tarkari saaru is looking delicious and I have tasted it once while in bangalore...it will be even more tastier with home grown veggies am sure..;-)

Yaay, great to see you blogging again Asha, and welcome back..Kitchen and the whole house has come up so well..Beautiful veggies there and all so colorful.Nothing must be greater than growing your own veggies and getting to eat them, rite? Your sambaar looks so delicious and yummy..About the movies, I did see SDM, great movie but very sad one like you said..

Welcome back! And Happy New Year 2009! Love ur cherry cabinet! Wow such a bounty of vegetables. Blog needs some personal touch may be as u said better to remove pict... There is always some anonymous jealous eyes looking what we do around...Sambar looks very inviting... Glad to see u back!

Happy new Year Asha. Yeah I did check your blog , but comment was blocked on your last post. Your re-done kitchen look beautiful, really people invited themselves over, is that allowed, and then may I ;-) Just kidding but seriously too much, don't post personal pics but let us peek into your life thru your posts.

Happy New Year Asha! Your kitchen looks very nice. Very nice veggies there especially when i saw the green brinjal.. Cooking with fresh veggies is always good and healthy.. sambar makes my mouth water..

Welcome back Asha and Happy New Year! It's so good to see you here again. Your vegetables look so good and remind me of summer. And that's a nice reminder, because we are in the middle of an ice storm here in Massachusetts.

So happy to see you back into action Asha! a very happy new year to you and your family too! thanks for the tour of your veggie garden. Thanks for the links to veggie seeds too! So useful for me! Sambhar looks so rich and mouth-watering. Oh I almost forgot! your brand new kitchen is so gorgeous and chic.

Satish, good to see you too! Regarding Tamarind, I always add 1/2 tsp of paste you get from the jar (like Swad) at a time. If it's less, can add more but very sour Sambhar dosen't taste good at all. That's why I don't grind with coconut like some do,so I can moderate the amount later! :)

Hi Asha, Good to see you after a long time. I took a break from mar 2008 and when i returned after 6 months you went on a break. So for almost 10 months i missed your recipes and comments. Welcome back! Hope you had a wonderful start of the new year! Your kitchen looks beautiful.

It's lovely to see you back. Your kitchen looks great. I understand about wanting to protect your privacy. However, I admit I'm going to miss the personal stuff as those are the bits I really love, together with photos. My reason for blogging is the pleasure from getting to know people or am I just plain nosy!

Welcome Back Asha.. Happy New year !!I was so happy to see ur comment on my blog :) !! I'm just drolling over the vegg snaps !! I guess no need to visit indian store to get indian vegetables :), Shall surely try this sambar

Hey! Thank you for the entry to FIC:) Seeing your resolution I kept quite - I understand how difficult it is to keep pace with the events because it happens with me all the time despite the fact that I started off only sometime back!

Asha,Hi there! great to see you back again..and OMG! so many fresh home grown vegetables , simply wow!eat fresh and healthy ..soup looks very delicious ..wish you a very happy new year filled with joy and happiness..hugs and smiles

Curry leaf plant; Don't know where you can get in Chicago but click on the first Indian seed site I have linked. They had plenty of 4" plants,you have to keep checking with them. I also once saw few plants in Raleigh but it's are to find here.They grow very slow, so you can't really pluck them as you want even if you own one but can pluck one or two very carefully! :D

Nice kitchen, has lots of counter space for cooking! I always wanted to have a garden and grow fruits, vegetables, and spices. Must give you a nice feeling when you eat them/cook with them. :) BTW That Sambar looks good.

welcome back asha :) Happy new year to you too. wow gr8 garden full of veggies....iam so impressed. Where did you get all those roots and plants? is it Home Goods ? Love the sambar .... looks nice color.

Happy New Year to you and the family and welcome back. I am all for slow blogging! It should be fun and slow and pleasurable like the slow food movement.Sorry about some people crossing the personal space.We grew some veggies and herbs to this past summer, our first try and it went well. Nothing on your scale though. But thank you for the links to get the Indian seeds. Am surely gonna check those out.Take care.. and go Panthers!

Thanks Asha for the response. It has happened to me. I was helping them sincerely, and at the time review/feedback - they backstabbed me.

It is still hurting me;I could not get out this. It is getting harder to see their faces again and continue to have realtionships. But we need to be professional here, I'm going more senti and emo here.

Thanks for visiting my blog,Asha.Coming from an esteemed blogger like you,the comment is really a compliment.Happy New Year .Waiting for all the delectable dishes with veggies from your garden.The sambhar is perfect for winter. :)

Welcome back and happy new year to you and your family.I agree with you that sometimes blogging does take up a lot of time.I took a break too.You are quite the gardener, all your plants looked so healthy and the sambhar looks delicious.and love your kitchen too.

Hello Asha, good to have you back even at half speed. A wow garden and a wow kitchen too! Can imagine what you will churn out from there. Have fun blogging no matter... in the final analysis its not about 'them' its how much you enjoy it... Take care and regards.. Angela

Good to see you back...am also in the stages of coming back from my break.. saw aroma blog too.. I too didnt cook anything new from 2 months..hoping to get back to some interesting cooking soon...nice produce for the season and of course--beautiful remodelled kitchen

At last you are here, Asha!Its a good decision to remove all the personal pics from the net.I have always been surprised seeing them, bcos of the insecurity it provides..Nice to see your new kitchen and veggies too.. Any way, Glad to see you, me too very slow to visit blogs, not much time as before.. hope to see you again.

Ashaaajeee.....belated New year greetings to you too!!!my...just was falling over all the veggies in ur garden...my!! just wish we too get to have spme piece of land ..but not here in the middle east..well, got myslef on the planting spree abt a month ago with cucumber, tomatoes, chillies...spring onions...but blummmmm...gone!.all passed away while i transfered it to larger pots,the spring onions are the only one that i have got now....

Welcome back Asha and wish you a very happy new year!!! It is so wonderful to have you back to blogging and I have missed your blogs so much! I am trying to find some blog events that I can contribute to. Please help! Oh and btw your kitchen looks fabulous!!!:)

I don't remember how your earlier kitchen looked like but this looks just out of a home decor magazine. Very trendy and stylish. The lighting and the cherry cabinets make the whole kitchen look so inviting and warm.

Fenugreek, I just throw some of the Methi seeds which I use for cooking, you get those in any Indian store in packs, must be whole Methi,not broken.

For Amarathus, I have linked 2 websites where you can buy them. I think it's www.seedsofindia.com or something! Wait until April to order for them, you may start planting once the ground gets warm probably in May.

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